Ethiopia-Egypt Ties İmproving: Diplomat

Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt Mohamoud Dirir said Friday that relations between Ethiopia and Egypt were improving after months of tension over the former's mega-dam project currently being built on the Blue Nile.



"The upcoming joint ministerial meeting of the two countries is a sign of the growing ties," Dirir told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.



"The meeting will begin at the expert level in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday and the ministerial meeting will convene on Monday," he added.



The joint ministerial meeting will be headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, the diplomat said, adding that the meeting would tackle bilateral cooperation in the economic, political, social, cultural and tourism sectors.



The ambassador said a 50-member Egyptian business delegation would meet with members of the Ethiopian business community next Sunday in the Ethiopian capital.



The discussions, he said, would hopefully bring about a significant change in the trade balance between Ethiopia and Egypt.



"The meeting is an opportunity to further boost trade ties and strengthen investment between the two countries," he noted.



The two countries are also expected to sign cooperation agreements in various fields, including health, education, trade, industry and tourism, he said.



"Ethiopia is desirous to work together with Egypt in different sectors and ensure mutual benefits of the two countries," Dirir said.



"Currently, both Ethiopia and Egypt are showing real interest in enhancing their relations. The Ethiopian market will serve as a transit point for Egyptian products destined for East Africa," he added.



Relations between Addis Ababa and Cairo had soured for months over the former's construction of a $6.4-billion hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile.



The project has raised alarm bells in Egypt, which relies on the river for almost all of its water needs.



Ethiopia says the project won't impact Egypt's traditional share of Nile water, which has long been determined by a colonial-era water-sharing treaty that Addis Ababa has never recognized.



Ties between the two states picked up again following the assumption of power by Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian defense minister who led the army to oust elected president Mohamed Morsi last year.



Before becoming president, al-Sisi had said he was ready to go to Addis Ababa to seek solutions to the two country's standoff over the dam.



Addis Ababa welcomed al-Sisi's remarks, expressing its readiness to engage in serious talks with Egypt over the dam project.



Egypt and Ethiopia agreed to resume tripartite talks – which also included downstream country Sudan – after Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and al-Sisi met in Equatorial Guinea in June.



Meetings of a tripartite technical committee, set up in 2011, resumed in August after an eight-month hiatus due to ongoing differences between Cairo and Addis Ababa.



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